Four months later:
After arriving, Prime Minister Han wasted not a single moment and headed straight to the King study. He had just returned home after spending nearly four months in Shangwei discussing the alliance, and he had to tell the good news. His hard work was met with the ideal result!
"Your Majesty, Shangwei Emperor, was pleased with the marriage alliance!"
King Suk Seokju slammed his book onto the table, absolutely beaming with joy. His eyes shone with such a bright and radiant glow, that the stress and tension from past months seemed as if nothing. Indeed the heavens were rewarding him abundantly for waiting patiently.
While King Suk Seokju did have other ways to deal with the trouble, he definitely didn't mind reaping an alliance's benefits with a second-tier empire like Shangwei. Especially since such interesting rumours spread around.
Be it right or not. King Suk Seokju heard that the Imperial family of Shangwei was willing to trade the people's lives if it meant gaining more power. Naturally, that scared the people beyond measure; in fact, some were so terrified they packed their belongings and fled. This was the root causing an economic collapse in the lower southern and eastern areas, followed by weak military barricades to defend the lands. No matter what, King Seokju planned to take full advantage of the rumour that had spread far and wide about Shangwei's Imperial family and secure this deal. "Han Seungkyu-ah, you've done too well."
While the King's eyes shone with overflowing brotherly affection, Prime Ministers Han remained humble as he carried on with his duties. "Your Majesty, Shangwei Emperor, has sent a representative with this Minister to discuss the finer details. With Your Majesty's permission, shall this Minister invite them in?"
The King smiled to himself as he calmly raised his hand in approval. Chancellor Yi walked in with four male servants following behind them on cue. Each servant held a wooden chest that contained some of Shangwei's pleasantry gifts to the King of Jeontu.
Chancellors Yi was a man of grey hair, the strain of his age exhibited in his frame. Despite his weak structure, he possessed a confident air that made his every movement remind someone of an ancient sage, wise beyond their years - and indeed he was.
His old age was accompanied by years of extensive experience in various political circumstances. His expertise in internal and external relationships between Shangwei and other countries resulted in him being a valuable member of the Emperor's court as Shangwei's dignified left Chancellor. In short, Chancellor Yi held heavy influence over Shangwei's international fairs, and the result of an excellent alliance depended on him.
With a language barrier, the envoy showed sincere respect in his mother tongue, hand pressed to his heart, and heads bowed down. The servants followed suit, bowing down with their hands raised, showcasing the gifts they had brought.
King Seokju, who had been smiling the whole time, signalled for the Chancellor to rise and gave his esteemed guest permission to sit.
Since the envoy had come to the King's personal study before formally meeting in the courtroom, the servants and eunuchs all understood the conversation their masters will have, is one that would demand death to swear its secrecy. So they tactfully withdrew from the study.
Prime Minister Han served as a translator to reduce the number of people aware of the alliance. Since he had picked up the Weian tongue of Shangwei while he worked at the borders in his good age.
While revolutionary conversations were happening in the King's study, a frantic figure rushed past, making a beeline straight to the princess quarters. All the servants who saw the light pink and blue hanbok couldn't help but want to laugh.
"Young Miss must be late again."
"It's the seventeenth time this month, right?"
"Poor Miss, who knows how Teacher Shin will react this time."
The young girl was too busy fighting against time. She was so anxious about how she would escape if she got caught that she didn't notice the strange looks and giggles the servants gave her.
"I'm dead meat if the Old Nag catches me this time. She'll skin me there and then for sure!" She knew she was late; she knew what the consequences were but, alas, can you blame a child for wanting to have fun?
Once she reached the doors to the princess quarters, the young girl immediately fixed her loose hair by tucking them behind her ear and adjusted her daenggi and hanbok so that it fell more naturally.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened the door and peeked her head inside. She wandered around a bit before a sigh of relief escaped her lips as she saw the Princess seated down alone in the garden with a cup of tea.
Known far and wide for her beauty and virtue behaviour Princess Sunmi is the only Princess Jeontu has. She is the epitome of grace and elegance in the country, the ideal woman any man could ask for. Her bearing highlighted her delicate figure and beautiful features; there was no hair out of place. "My dear Aeng is very lucky. You would have been in trouble if I had not requested Teacher Shin to not come today."
"The Old Nag isn't here? Unnie, you'll lose your hair if you lie," grinning, the young girl swiftly sat next to the Princess and poured herself a cup of tea, "Why isn't she here?"
Anyone who saw these two girls sitting could clearly see the frighteningly polar contradiction between their demeanours. While Princess Sunmi's every action showed that she was a royal, Han Aeng - well, she looked peculiar.
Loose strands of hair framed her dainty face, and a few sticks caught in her braid made her seem cheeky. Mud stuck to the bottom of her skirt, and her ribbon was falling undone due to her restless personality. She simply looked like a puppy who had just discovered and had her fair share of fun in a muddy puddle.
Unlike the Princess, Han Aeng lacked the general outlook of an exemplary woman but rather had a very childish charm. Her eyes were bright, and her smile was cheeky, so men and women alike would feel an urge to protect and shelter her. In saying that, Han Aeng is what some would describe as a sweetheart and others a devil; really, there is no in-between.
"Imperial father and I-" Princess Sunmi paused for a second, a frown drawing on her pretty forehead. She moved her finger along the rim of her cup.
Han Aeng observed her action before placing her teacup down and smiling, "Got into a fight again?"
Sunmi didn't look up but nonchalantly nodded her head. She and her father rarely fought; luckily, Han Aeng had her way of clearing the air up when they did. Sunmi became dependent on Han Aeng's tactics to calm her father's anger without even knowing.
"Well," Han Aeng trailed off. Quite frankly, she didn't have any energy left to go out of her way to fix the father-daughter duo's fight, but she didn't want them to keep fighting either. "His Majesty must be overworked with the whole situation in Baekje and the plague in Hangdong. Furthermore, Prime Minister Han wasn't around to hold down the snake in all his fits. His Majesty must have been stressed, so how about a song for the stressed King?"
In such situations, Princess Sunmi genuinely admired Han Aeng. Not only did Han Aeng look out for her, but also she kept an eye on court affairs and the King's moods. Most importantly, Han Aeng always found free time to create trouble and enjoy herself. On the other hand, despite being the Princess, she was careless of her father's worries about the country and still threw a tantrum. Princess Sunmi felt ashamed of her actions!
"Ai, stop looking at me like that. As your Lady Royal, I've got you covered. Trust me," Han Aeng comforted Princess Sunmi with a pat on her back, "I'll go grab my bipa, so meet me in the inner courtyard."
Han Aeng didn't wait for a reply but quickly relayed some instructions to the servants and headed to the musician's room to take her bipa. Instead of hurrying to the inner courtyard immediately, she waited for a bit. Dawdling for time, she even took a small nap before finally heading to meet with the Princess.
There was only a single cherry blossom planted in the inner courtyard by the late Queen mother to commemorate the late Prince. The very cherry blossom Han Aeng would often sit on to entertain and console the King whenever he was stressed. However, unlike the other times, she sat down on the mat, accompanied by the Princess, and started to play her bipa.
Her pipa sounded sweet and elegant, every stroke like pearls moving in a jade plate. The attractive melody caused many attendants to withdraw from their tasks and admire her skills. Ultimately, Han Aeng's song drew the attention of the King and his company.